


Overlap

by Amethyst_Moon



Series: it's a long way to walk [14]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Branching Choices, Gen, Old Soul, See Future, Seer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-08
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-08-20 05:18:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8237488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amethyst_Moon/pseuds/Amethyst_Moon
Summary: Even as Reborn explained his Hyper Intuition, Tsuna knew it was more than that. He doubted that even Vongola Primo himself could see what might happen years into the future.





	

Even from a young age, Tsuna knew he wasn’t normal. Normal kids didn’t react to things that hadn’t happened. Normal kids didn’t see the future.

 

(He was willing to pretend, though.)

 

For as far back as he can remember, the shifting web is part of his life, guiding him through the day. By the time he’s five, he hasn’t tripped once while learning to walk. By elementary school, he learns enough to be hailed a genius if he so chooses. And the day he sees his own future - of the conflicts and fights, the war against the Millefiore, his Family, friends (wasn’t that a strange thought?) - he begs his beautiful, faithful mother to allow him to learn how to defend himself. She resists, of course. But he’s adamant, more stubborn than a mule when he has reason to be. Maybe it’s because he hasn’t asked her of anything else, maybe because he sometimes wakes screaming from nightmares (so many paths that end badly), but Nana agrees.

 

It may be nothing against assassins, trained killers, but this time he’ll be better prepared for the madness that is Vongola. Someone always comes to train him (for the position of Vongola Decimo, or next CEDEF leader, or even that rare path as the next Varia leader) - and while it’s usually someone competent (there was that one memorable future with Xanxus as his tutor in all things mafia - Byakuran hadn’t stood a chance in that one), he knows better than to rely on that. Reborn’s taught him (will teach him?) better than that.

 

And maybe he shouldn’t think so fondly of the spartan baby who is more likely to shoot him than know who he is, but it’s Reborn. It’s Reborn who raises him up from a wimpy nobody to the greatest leader of Vongola since Primo, in so many futures, in so many worlds. Sure his Family are a large part of it, and he would never leave them but - it’s Reborn who provids that first step, the motivation to do better, that _you can do better, be more than this_. It’s Reborn who he picks as Internal Advisor so many times it’s hard to count.

 

(He really shouldn’t act so familiarly with the World’s Greatest Hitman.)

 

 _But it’s_ Reborn _!_ a part of his (childish, lonely) mind cries.

 

 _Who will shoot first and ask never_ , another (more cynical, jaded) snaps, _if he has even a suspicion that we know too much._

 

Tsuna wonders if he is going mad on top of seeing the twisting web of futures. It wouldn’t be the only time he cracks from the pressure.

 

Knowledge of the future allows him to practice the fighting styles shown to him, but it’s not perfect. For all that he knows how it should be in his mind, Tsuna’s young body just doesn’t have the muscle to cope with most of the techniques. It frustrates him to no end. Crazy, merciless training is the only answer, as mindlessly boring as it is.

 

X-Burner is only a far-off dream, but he swears that he will perfect it. That, and Zero Point Breakthrough.

 

It’s in his elementary years that Tsuna has his first contact with his Family (they are the same people every time - a constant, in the ever-changing world he lives in). Yamamoto Takeshi is in his class. Brave, cheerful Takeshi who will give his life - _did_ give his life - for the Family, for Vongola and its ideals.

 

“You’re so good at baseball, Yamamoto!”

 

“Yeah! We’ll win that march next week for sure!”

 

“Haha! You think so?”

 

Oh. He almost forgets about this, what with being occupied with the eventual future instead of the events about to occur. Takeshi doesn’t have any friends except for his baseball teammates. It’s when he had started faking his smile, too... (Every time he remembers it, Tsuna wants to break something - because Takeshi is _his_ , belongs to _him_ and _his Family_. No one else.)

 

Later in the day, Tsuna is wandering the school when he catches sight of the blossoming baseball player. He hurries his step.

 

“Ta- Yamamoto-san,” he says, catching hold of the other’s shirt. He makes sure to hold back his emotions - apparently he isn’t as ready for a meeting as he thought. “You shouldn’t smile if you don’t mean it.”

 

“Oh! Tsuna, right?”

 

Truth be told, Takeshi doesn’t notice Tsuna much. He’s just there, part of the background. He never talks, never interacts with his peers. The boy is sure that if he was more outgoing, even slightly, Tsuna would have a horde of fangirls, if only for his mysteriousness. The point is: Tsuna does not talk to anyone. Ever.

 

It is strange, though. Now that there’s no one else, Takeshi can’t focus on anything but him. Tsuna is a black hole of attention, focusing everything on his brown _(amber-gold)_ eyes.

 

“Yes. Think about what I said, Yamamoto-san.”

 

It feels... wrong, somehow, to hear that coming out of Tsuna. There’s something in him (that violent part he strove to suppress because he was _normalnormalnormal_ ) that screams to hold on to the boy _(boss)_ in front of him, to not let go _ever_. It’s frightening. It’s frightening, the strength of that voice, and how little Takeshi wants to fight it. Because it feels right to glance at Tsuna to make sure that he won’t disappear, not again. Not ever. It feels right to follow, to look for orders from the younger boy.

 

(He still feels incomplete. Tsuna is a part and _he’s here_ , he’s a large part, but he’s not all there is.)

 

“Don’t be so formal!” Takeshi swings a companionable arm around Tsuna’s shoulders. (He completely ignores what Tsuna said earlier.) He tenses, as if unsure whether to stay or bolt. Takeshi only squeezes harder to keep him still. “I have a feeling that we’ll be great friends.”

 

And Tsuna’s smile is so cautiously hopeful that it makes Takeshi want to punch something.

 

.

 

Tsuna doesn’t believe in fate, not really - he sees the results of choices that can easily change - but at times like these he really has to wonder. What are the chances that they would meet like this?

 

“Herbivore,” Kyoya greets.

 

And yeah, it’s strange to see Kyoya so calm. But they aren’t even teenagers yet, maybe he hasn’t developed that insane bloodlust at this point. Though, that doesn’t say much when there are unconscious bodies piled around them...

 

“Hibari-san,” Tsuna replies, “It’s nice to see you.”

 

Kyoya inwardly raises an eyebrow. It’s amazingly rare to have someone not break down in tears when they stumble upon this bloody scene, not to mention greet him with such a friendly face. His reputation must be slipping.

 

The other boy nods his head in acknowledgement. _(Of what?)_ “I’ll see you tomorrow, Hibari-san.” He wants to collect his Family so, so much - but it’s too early. He has nothing to offer to Kyoya and Ryohei, no fighting skills to speak of; he has no idea where Chrome lives, as much as he wants to save her; and there is no way for him to contact Hayato, Lambo and Mukuro who are all in Italy.

 

(His family is not even half-filled, and it makes him ache unbearably.)

 

As the other boy walks - no, saunters, there was a sort of hunter’s grace about him - away, Kyoya wonders about him. He has long accepted that he himself is the only proper carnivore in Namimori. Yet now, there is this child who shows a mind much stronger than his age would imply. He really is interesting. The only other potential carnivore in town, in fact.

 

But not yet. He still hasn’t reached that status.

 

“Hn.”

 

The next day, Tsuna does indeed meet Kyoya again. He even brings hamburger steak (made by the wondrous Nana) to pacify the demon prefect.

 

It is a beautiful day; the sun is shining, the fluffy clouds drift peacefully by, and the clear blue sky watches over the world. This, unfortunately for some, has no bearing on Kyoya’s disciplinary actions against students acting against the school rules. Such is the scene Tsuna comes upon.

 

“Hello again, Hibari-san,” he says. There are, once again, piles of bodies surrounding the teen. As he walks over, Tsuna casually steps on the hand of a delinquent who was twitching for a weapon. (He really shouldn’t have pissed off his Cloud.) “I brought you lunch.” According to his ‘other sight’, Kyoya will often ignore meals in favour of Disciplinary Committee work.

 

“Hn.”

 

Tsuna chuckled quietly, and put the lunchbox down. “I’ll leave it here, then.”

 

“Wait.”

 

“Eh?”

 

This boy really is a good find. “Come with me.”

 

“Hibari-san...?” Though he sounds confused, Tsuna follows with no fear. Kyoya can’t decide if it’s due to foolishness or he really does trust him - him, the feared demon - that much. He doesn’t know which would be worse.

 

(He’s going to get killed one day trusting the wrong person.)

 

At their destination, Kyoya leads Tsuna to an unobtrusive desk in the corner, and soon returns with a large stack of paper. “Sort and complete these,” he says before turning to his own desk.

 

Tsuna blinks owlishly. This, he hasn’t seen. “Hibari-san?” Said person ignores him, pen flying across the paper. Looking down, he sees... an application for starting a boxing club, from one Sasagawa Ryohei. Tsuna can only sigh and get to work. _It seems that I will never escape paperwork._

 

It is inevitable, perhaps, that rumors would start, especially as Tsuna isn’t even part of Namimori Middle yet. (He heads to the reception room every break he has to do battle against the towering hordes of evil paperwork.) Some say he is a thug blackmailed into being Hibari’s servant; others, that he is Hibari’s estranged little brother trying to get to know each other after years apart. All are ridiculous. Kyoya’s having a field day biting all the crowding herbivores to death. Tsuna, on the other hand, hates the attention. He has seen himself dealing with public relations gone sour before, but the adults are never as mindlessly cruel as children can be. In reaction to these whispers, Tsuna begins sticking ever closer to Kyoya, particularly during school hours.

 

(For all that he’s seen, he’s still a child.)

 

One day, when the gossiping students are exceptionally bad, Tsuna escapes to the roof for a break. When he arrives, he finds Kyoya napping in the sun. He smiles and put the lunchbox (full of hamburger steak, as usual, and a flask of Kyoya’s favourite tea) next to him before lying down on his other side. Eventually, Tsuna is lulled to sleep by the sun on his face and the steady comfort of one of his (future) Guardians by his side.

 

Kyoya awakens some time later to the smell of his most beloved meal and a warmth by his side. It’s strange, he thinks, because he is more relaxed than in a long time. He reaches over for his lunch - but is stopped by a weight on his arm. The brown fluff belonging to the weight reminds him of a kitten. A very young, very (dare he say it?) _cute_ kitten. Kyoya freezes. Every bell in his head is going off, screaming at him to keep this one. He can only resign himself to the irrevocable. If he doesn’t he will go crazy, thinking about the young boy all day, being distracted from his duties. No, best to avoid all that.

 

After that day, the interactions between Tsuna and Kyoya become closer. Not intimate, but - warmer. By the time a month passes, Tsuna spends most of his time by either Takeshi’s or Kyoya’s side. Nana doesn’t mind - and as much as he loves her, Tsuna knows full well that she isn’t the most attentive mother around (bordering on neglectful, in fact).

 

So perhaps he shouldn’t have been so surprised when he’s targeted by the Momokyokai Yakuza.

 

He tries to fight back, of course he does. But no matter how much training he does, he is still only eleven years old. Tsuna doesn’t have the strength to go up against gangs triple his age, and his body just can’t support his Flames for long without shutting down - both problems that would cease with age.

 

He can only bunk down in this tiny closet-room they threw him in (“You’re close to that Hibari brat aren’t you? When he comes we’ll show him just why he shouldn’t mess with us!”) and hope for a chance to escape.

 

Elsewhere, Takeshi is on the verge of an uncharacteristic panic attack. He can’t find Tsuna anywhere, not even on the roof he loves so much. Finally, he has to admit defeat and find Namimori’s ‘guardian’.

 

“Kyoya! Do you know where Tsuna is?” He asks with a smile _(always smile, don’t let the mask crack)_ , slamming open the reception room’s door.

 

The person in question _glares_. “Don’t act so familiar with me, herbivore.”

 

Takeshi only laughs. “Do you know where Tsuna is?” he repeats. In any other situation he may have joked around longer, but this is Tsuna.

 

“No.”

 

Takeshi frowns faintly, the first sign of his concern. “Aren’t you worried? I can’t find him anywhere.”

 

Kyoya sighs. In truth, he is the tiniest bit disquieted by the lack of visits, but Tsuna could take care of himself.

 

...Except he can’t, can he? He isn’t yet a carnivore, he isn’t grown into the lion he could be. ( _And he’s a resident of Namimori,_  he reasons with himself, _so he’s under my protection_.)

 

Mind made up, he stands decisively and reaches for his phone. “Kusakabe,” he says shortly when the call goes through, “have everyone look for a spiky-brown-haired elementary school student, around eleven years old.”

 

“Yes, President.” Kusakabe, throughout the years of following Kyoya, has long been used to the lack of explanation and niceties from him.

 

“Meet me at the school gate.”


End file.
